Chemical Guys Laser Buff polish

[blackntan]

Anyone ever try this stuff out?



On a whim, I bought a gallon of it for my side business. Just got it today. Granted, it`s pouring out, so I can`t try it today. But I will be trying it out on my car tomorrow...



One thing I have noticed so far, is that the smell is AMAZING! It`s the strongest, best smelling bubblegum smell ever! I want to drink it!



Oh, and it`s a cool purple blue color too...



So tomorrow, on my blackcherry Scion xB, i`ll be going clay, laser buff then Natty`s blue!



I`m excited!!

[Driven-528e]

Looking forward to your review!



I`m a fan of several of their products (they smell great too!), but have not tried the laser buff

[SpoiledMan]

I just saved a ton of money on my.........polish!!!!:D

[banana4yah]

please let us know how it turns out. I`m about to pull the trigger on a gallon as well.

[blackntan]

ok guys, the review is on. I`m about to start. Unfortunatly, the fiance needed the Scion, so instead, the 05 MINI Cooper S is the test mule.



Which is actually better, because it needed it more.





I`ll be taking pics the whole way through, and update when I take breaks...

[blackntan]

Ok guys, I`m back with the review and pics! Sorry it took so long, I got caught between detailing, cooking dinner, editing the photo`s, and trying to pull myself together from an ice hockey game this morning, then a full day on the MINI. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the review!



First off, the Laser Buff wasn`t the only product I tried out for the first time today. Actually, just about everything I tried today was new to me.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/productsused.jpg



So we`re working with Chemical Guy`s Laser Buff, Back to Black, Natty`s Blue, and the Wolfgang EuroTech Smart Foam Pads from Autogeek.



The subject is my MINI Cooper S, with British Racing Green paint, a white top and white stripes. (pics to follow.) The paint is in good shape, but not flawless. Or at least it wasn`t.



I started with the laser buff and the wolfgang pad, which is advertized as a `light cutting pad`. The pad is flat, with a little lip on the back, and a large section of velcro. The one main complaint I have with this product is that the velcro doesn`t seem to strong. There were times where I let up on pressure, and the pad moved around on the backing plate. Which sucked ***. Other than that, the pad seemed to work well. I`m not sure i`d buy these again, but they seem to do the job, and if they hold up, I`ll be more impressed with them. My most common complaint with pads is the velcro failing, so if these hold up longer in that regard, i`ll forgive the weakness.



Now to the main event. The Laser Buff. As you all know, Laser buff is considered to be a diminishing abrasive compound, that removes swirls, then polishes the car to a bright shine. The first time I ran it across the hood of the MINI, I started to panic. It didn`t seem to be a very user friendly product. It flashed very quickly on the paint, and seemed like it was going to be very hard to remove. Keep in mind that I was working in the sun, and they do say it`s supposed to work that way. However, I kept working the area, and much to my joy, the hazing didn`t mean the product was dried and worthless as it does with some other compounds. It`s just the look it gets when being spread. I worked the hood slowly, and you could actually see the compound break down. It went from white to light grey, to harldy noticable. When the area was done, it started to dust. Actually, it dusts like a madman. If you are against dusting compounds, then you prolly won`t like this one. It dusted so much that I used a cali-duster to remove the dust before proceding to the next panel. But there was a definite time line of life to the product, and it let you know where it was in that life at any given moment.



At any rate, I finished the hood, then wiped it down and removed the dust. It looked like this:



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/noswirlsLB1.jpg



Holy crap you say, it`s beautiful! Well, yes, it was. I was very impressed. As I moved to other panels on the car and grew more comfortable with the product, I learned that it works best with a good amount of product, and a QD prepped pad. I got better results by keeping the pad wet and lubed, and the laser buff really seemed to take off once I started doing this. Not sure if it was because of the new pad soaking up all of the product, the direct sun, or just the product tendencies, but it was much happier that way.



So, I finished the door, sat back, and was like... Wow.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/MINIafterLbuff1.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/colorcloseup1.jpg



Overall, I`m very impressed with this compound. I like the way it works, I like using it, I LOVE the smell, and I LOVE the results. I`ll be using this for a while. The only two concerns I have are how much of the swirl removal is fillers, and how long they`ll last.



Next, it was time to put on the Natty`s Blue, and dress the trim with the Mothers Back to Black. I put the Natty`s on the entire car, and let it haze while I applied the Back to Black.



The back to black seems to work great, but all trim dressings look good when they`re first applied. I`m interested to see if this does remove ground in wax and brings the trim back to new like they say. Otherwise, it`s just an average dressing, which might even be a little too shiny for my tastes.



The Natty`s... Wow. What more can you say, other than: My paint... It`s Melting! Meeelllttiingg...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/cardone2.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/cardone1.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/jaredirl/cardone3.jpg



Well, that`s all for me. Hope my review was helpful.



Questions? Comments??



- Jared

[Ben Kenobi]

Outstanding work and results Jared! The Laser Buff looks like an excellent product. Got to love the Natty`s Blue, it sure produces a fantastic finish. Thanks for sharing your process, the MINI looks amazing. :xyxthumbs

[-KGB-]

Its basically the same as Poorboys SSR 2.5 so you will love it. Great product that really performs!

[blackntan]

thanks guys!



I appreciate the replies! The stuff is awesome! The car looked even better in person.



One thing i`d like to avoid is the Poorboy`s discussion. KGB, you have a PM. This thread is strictly about the Laserbuff.

[Sherman8r44]

The car looks brilliant! Laser Buff has waxes and silicones in it which could act as fillers though, so did you spray Isopropyl Alcohol on a section to ensure that the swirls/flaws were fully removed?

[Asonyexec]

Nice work & great pics!!! Chem Guys does have some excellent products and if you`re close enough to visit their place (which i am) they are above & beyond helpful in explaining exactly how to use their stuff. Not to mention they have donuts LOL. The few CG products I do have met my expectations (extreme slick QD is awesome).......can`t wait to blow through all my other products and replace with CG stuff.

[blackntan]

asonyexec,



Yeah, I`ve thouroughly happy with them so far. What else would you recommend? Right now all i`ve tried is the laser buff. The QD is high on my list, and I am looking for an exterior trim product, and anything else that is really good.

[Sherman8r44]

IDK, I didn`t love the CG Synthetic Detailer. Pro Detailer, on the other hand, is my favorite QD for carnauba finishes no question. I also like both Clear Liquid Extreme Shine and "gel" for trim..."gel" seems to be slightly more durable, but CLES is more versatile and has better cleaning ability IMO. Overall I like CLES better. I also really like their Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=67958) .

[RCBuddha]

Yeah, I`ve thouroughly happy with them so far. What else would you recommend? Right now all i`ve tried is the laser buff. The QD is high on my list, and I am looking for an exterior trim product, and anything else that is really good.



Other products worth trying:



Silk (if you like spray dressings)

X-Shine (matte finish dressing)

Pro Detailer w/Carnauba

Speed Detail

Glass Cleaner

Odor Eliminator

Trim Gel (high shine)



Blackntan,



Let me know if you want a small sample of any of the above. RCBuddha1@gmail.com

[Asonyexec]

blck&tan i have tried the following CG products:



leather conditioner - I have been a life long LEXOL user and I think the CG`s leather conditioner gives the same result, the big plus is that CG`s leather conditioner is leather scented! Smell like a new car for at least 2-3 weeks after I use it.



Extreme VRT Dressing - neat stuff, does not leave your tires looking "wet" but it`s not a matt finish either, something in between. Cool thing is that it drys after 30 minutes or so therefore you don`t have to worry about sling or it rubbing off onto your pants.



The only negative comment i have is that I personally like my tires looking very glossy when i apply dressing - the wetter the better. Because my tires are ribbed i did not get that effect using VRT, but once brought to the CG`s attention they recommended i try their trim gel on my tires.



Trim Gel - Works okay, same as PB`s trim restore or Meg endurance gel. On trim both CG & PB worked about the same, lasted just as long (about 2 washings). For tire dressing I have only used CG`s trim gel & Megs endurance gel - CGs washes off easy, Meg`s is a bit tougher to get off.



EZ Creme Glaze - Works well, I just tried it with my PC and the results were favorable. Easy on easy off, not a lot of dusting.



Extreme body wash & gloss enhancer - Worked great, the "lubricity" (to steal a term from MOL) is awesome and the grape scent doesnt hurt either. A little of this stuff goes a long way.



Those are just about all the CHEM GUY`s products I have used, so far I`ve been pleased with their performance and price. I am sure there are Pro Detailers on here that use many more of their products but I gotta give CG :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs .